Ian McShane Will Play Blackbeard in Pirates 4!

Legendary pirate Blackbeard will be the main villain of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, and Deadwood‘s Ian McShane has signed on to play him.

A little research (a.k.a. reading the Amazon synopsis) reveals that Tim Powers’ 1987 novel On Stranger Tides — upon which the movie will be very loosely based — does include Blackbeard as a character. Of course, he was also a real person, named Edward Teach, who was active in the West Indies in the early 1700s; in fact, he’s probably the most famous historical pirate there is, so his inclusion in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise isn’t all that surprising. Cool, though, especially with McShane lending his gravitas to the role.

Aside from Deadwood, McShane starred in the short-lived Kings, has appeared in the movies Hot Rod and We Are Marshall, and has lent his voice to Coraline, The Golden Compass, and Kung Fu Panda.

He’ll join Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow, of course, and also Penelope Cruz as the new female lead. The movie shoots this summer with director Rob Marshall.

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